Lucha Underground 4×14: Pet Cemetery

Matches

Dragon Azteca Jr. (c) beat Ivelisse to keep the Gift of the Gods Championship
third defense
(7:12, legdrop, good)

Mil Muertes went to a draw with King Cuerno in a #1 contenders match
(5:09, DDQ, ok)

Kobra Moon, Daga, Jeremiah Snake (c) beat Fenix, Drago, Aerostar to keep the Lucha Underground Trios Championship
first defense
(9:12, Crane double underhook shoulderbreaker Aerostar, good)

Status Check

Champion: Pentagon Dark (5 defenses)

Gift of the Gods: Dragon Azteca (3 defenses)

Trios Champions: Reptile Tribe (Kobra Moon, Daga, Jeremiah Snake) (1 defense)

Died This Season (14): Jeremiah Crane (casket)*, Fenix (casket/lifeforce absorbed), Mr. Pec-tacular (sacrificed), Cortez Castro (sacrificed), Máscarita Sagrada (murdered by Rabbits), Vinnie Massaro (sacrificed), Pizza Guy (sacrificed), Vibora (beheaded), Mala Suerte (sacrificed) , Saltador (sacrificed), Benji the Agent (murdered by Ricky), Angelico (implied to have been murdered by Ricky), Catrina (fell off a roof), Joey Wrestling (sacrificed)

Resurrected (2): Jeremiah Crane/Snake, Fenix

Developments

Fenix is back, but he’s not Fenix. The episode title is a nod to a 1989 movie with a similar plot: Fenix has returned to life in an eviler version of himself. He’s not quite one of the murderous characters from that movie, but he does kill his team’s chances of winning the trios championship. Fenix seems particularly upset towards the people who brought him back. Aerostar receives a surprise superkick and the valagueza into a powerbomb that Striker is (also) calling the Fire Driver to set up the loss. Melissa simply is shoved down, though that angers the fans much more. Dragon Azteca Jr. quickly swoops in to take Melissa to safety while Fenix lurches off.

That’s a match coming down the road, though there’s a lot of matches being set up this week. Jake Strong appears before the match to challenge Fenix, Aerostar, and Drago to a 1 v 3 match should they win the titles. They didn’t, but that issue isn’t done. Earlier, Ivelisse tried and failed to win the Gift of the Gods title from Azteca. She still did well enough for XO Lishius to invite her to join a trio with Joey Ryan. That new odd threesome threw out their own challenge for the trios championship.

Finally, King Cuerno was looking for a path to get the match against Pentagon Dark he set up last week. Antonio Cueto appeared ringside to offer him a #1 contenders match. The good news for Cuerno is this was a rare Antonio Cueto in-arena visit which didn’t lead to a Matanza appearance. The bad news is Cuerno got Mil Muertes instead, and the two brawled their way into knocking the referee going down for a draw. Cueto pulled a move from WWE, and made a three-way title match for next week.

There’s one match that wasn’t totally clear. The show ended with the overdue return of Marty the Moth. He visited Antonio, dropping bills on his desk to ask for a Gift of the Gods shot. It was the same amount Mariposa had asked, and Antonio agreed to it. Marty then produced more money for Antonio for one more thing – and that’s where the show ended.

Thoughts

A decent episode. It couldn’t live up to it’s match quality possibilities because two of the matches were compromised by the storylines they needed to set up, but at least there’s a clear match they’re setting from those finishes and those matches will probably be good. If you squint right, you can start to see some Ultima Lucha programs being set up; they’re only 6 more episodes away.

Dragon Azteca and Ivelisse was the only match to get a normal finish, and they built some good drama to that finish. The dive into the rail was a surprise was of setting up some big near falls, and Ivelisse’s Code Red (perfect name with her new look) and the DDT earlier looked great. It was strange to see Azteca win with a legdrop he’s never won before, but it didn’t take away from the match. The fans didn’t seem as in to Ivelisse as they’ve been in the past. They were quiet in general on the show, but it was a sign about how much momentum the injuries have cost her.

Didn’t like the Muertes/Cuerno match as much, because it was such a weak out in a promotion where a lot has been let go lately. Marty is the toughest referee to recover so quickly from being knocked down by both men; normally there’d be time for a second referee to show up. What they did was to push the idea of them being equal, which meant just a lot of standing and trading punches in practice. Hopefully, there can be more variety next week.

The trios title match was a good as long it lasted. Kobra Moon sat most of the match out, but her teammates worked well as bases and opponents for the flying challengers. Drago looked great. I had forgotten how good Fenix and Daga were together, as they haven’t had a chance to face each other much even when being in the same places the last couple of years. Fenix played his new character well, doing enough to establish his character and not be all slow pauses while making it abundantly clear that he’s a different guy. I don’t know if turning one of the most popular characters on the show evil is really in the best interest of the show, but I’ll give it a little bit of rope to see if they’re working on a long-term reversal. The match with Dragon Azteca/Fenix should be good. Most of the matches they’re setting up here should be better the matches then they’re doing here.